Shiv Sena continues to surprise with its disastrous decisions post the Maharashtra assembly poll results. First, the party came up with the bizarre 50:50 formula and then it decided to join hands with its political rivals in order to form a government in the state. In yet another shocker coming from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, the Shiv Sena has approached the Supreme Court against the Maharashtra Governor’s decision to refuse the extra time to the Shiv Sena to form the next government in Maharashtra. In its petition to the Supreme Court, the party termed Governor’s decision, “unconstitutional, unreasonable and malafide,” in its petition before the apex court.
Shiv Sena approached the Supreme Court after several reports came in stating that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had recommended President’s Rule in the state. Later on, President’s Rule was imposed yesterday. The Maharashtra Governor was of the opinion that none of the parties- the BJP, Shiv Sena or the NCP, could give a stable government to the state of Maharashtra. This move by Shiv Sena has given yet another dramatic turn to the ongoing political stalemate in the state of Maharashtra.
It is interesting to note here that the Shiv Sena has approached Kapil Sibal, senior Congress leader and advocate to represent it before the Supreme Court. This really shows that out of its thirst for political power, the Shiv Sena is compromising on all its ideological values and leanings.
As if joining hands with its political rivals was not enough of an embarrassment, the Shiv Sena now wants to be represented by a lawyer who had argued for deferment of hearing in the Ayodhya dispute before the Supreme Court.
Sibal, who represented for the Sunni Waqf Board, one of the parties representing the Muslim side in the Ayodhya dispute, had argued in December 2017 before the top court that hearing in the Ayodhya dispute be deferred and continued only after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections get over. BJP leader had intervened in the Ayodhya dispute and claimed that the pending appeals infringed on his right to worship. The Supreme Court had then fixed December 6, 2017, as the date of hearing in the matter, and had also said that no further adjournments would be given. In this backdrop, Sibal had argued, “Why should this court fall in the trap? Why was it not heard earlier, why now? This is not an ordinary suit. It is perhaps the most important litigation in the history of India and will decide the country’s future. It will have serious ramifications. The court should not in this circumstance hear this matter that will have an impact on polity.”
Now, Shiv Sena, a party which always positioned itself as an ardent supporter of building a grand Ram Mandir at the Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya at the earliest, has now decided to hire an advocate who had not only represented a Muslim party but had also tried to delay the verdict in the Ayodhya dispute. Only in the month of November last year, Shiv Sena supremo, Uddhav Thackrey had taken a dig at the BJP over the Ram Mandir issue, likening the saffron party with Kumbhakarna. The Shiv Sena chief had said, “Every Hindu wants a Ram temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram. I have come here to awaken the Kumbhakarna, who slept for six months. Hindutva means keeping your words.” He had also said, “They only say ‘mandir wahi banayenge’, but they won’t tell the date,” and added, “Bring in an ordinance for Ram Temple we will support it. I don’t want any credit, you take the credit but construct the temple.” In fact, Shiv Sena supremo has been taking the ‘Mandir Wohi Banayenge, lekin Tarikh Nahi Batayenge’, jibe at the BJP since 2015. The party, therefore, had positioned itself as even more committed than the BJP to the cause of constructing a grand temple at Lord Ram’s birthplace. This position is not of a recent origin, rather it forms the core of Shiv Sena’s ideological orientation and has been as such since the days of the party founder, Bal Thackrey.
Now, the Supreme Court verdict has finally paved the way for construction of Ram Mandir at Lord Ram’s birthplace in Ayodhya. However, Shiv Sena’s hypocrisy has been exposed even as the party has approached someone like Kapil Sibal who had sought to delay hearing in the matter. Out of its hunger to gain political power in the state of Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena keeps flirting with its political rivals and in this process, it is fast compromising upon its core ideological values.